(a) The purpose of this section is to establish an employment
term and class titles for service personnel. The employment term
for service personnel may not be less than ten months. A month is
defined as twenty employment days. The county board may contract
with all or part of these service personnel for a longer
term.

(b) Service personnel employed on a yearly or twelve-month
basis may be employed by calendar months. Whenever there is a
change in job assignment during the school year, the minimum pay
scale and any county supplement are applicable.

(c) Service personnel employed in the same classification for
more than the two hundred-day minimum employment term are paid for
additional employment at a daily rate of not less than the daily
rate paid for the two hundred-day minimum employment term.

(d) A service person may not be required to report for work
more than five days per week without his or her agreement, and no
part of any working day may be accumulated by the employer for
future work assignments, unless the employee agrees thereto.

(e) If a service person whose regular work week is scheduled
from Monday through Friday agrees to perform any work assignments
on a Saturday or Sunday, the service person is paid for at least
one-half day of work for each day he or she reports for work. If
the service person works more than three and one-half hours on any
Saturday or Sunday, he or she is paid for at least a full day of work for each day.

(f) A custodian, aide, maintenance, office and school lunch
service person required to work a daily work schedule that is
interrupted is paid additional compensation in accordance with this
subsection.

(1) A maintenance person means a person who holds a
classification title other than in a custodial, aide, school lunch,
office or transportation category as provided in section one,
article one of this chapter.

(2) A service person's schedule is considered to be
interrupted if he or she does not work a continuous period in one
day. Aides are not regarded as working an interrupted schedule
when engaged exclusively in the duties of transporting students;

(3) The additional compensation provided in this subsection:

(A) Is equal to at least one eighth of a service person's
total salary as provided by the state minimum pay scale and any
county pay supplement; and

(B) Is payable entirely from county board funds.

(g) When there is a change in classification or when a service
person meets the requirements of an advanced classification, his or
her salary shall be made to comply with the requirements of this
article and any county salary schedule in excess of the minimum
requirements of this article, based upon the service person's
advanced classification and allowable years of employment.

(h) A service person's contract, as provided in section five, article two of this chapter, shall state the appropriate monthly
salary the employee is to be paid, based on the class title as
provided in this article and on any county salary schedule in
excess of the minimum requirements of this article.

(i) The column heads of the state minimum pay scale and class
titles, set forth in section eight-a of this article, are defined
as follows:

(2) "Years of employment" means the number of years which an
employee classified as a service person has been employed by a
county board in any position prior to or subsequent to the
effective date of this section and includes service in the Armed
Forces of the United States, if the employee was employed at the
time of his or her induction. For the purpose of section eight-a
of this article, years of employment is limited to the number of
years shown and allowed under the state minimum pay scale as set
forth in section eight-a of this article;

(3) "Class title" means the name of the position or job held
by a service person;

(4) "Accountant I" means a person employed to maintain payroll
records and reports and perform one or more operations relating to
a phase of the total payroll;

(5) "Accountant II" means a person employed to maintain
accounting records and to be responsible for the accounting process associated with billing, budgets, purchasing and related
operations;

(6) "Accountant III" means a person employed in the county
board office to manage and supervise accounts payable, payroll
procedures, or both;

(7) "Accounts payable supervisor" means a person employed in
the county board office who has primary responsibility for the
accounts payable function and who either has completed twelve
college hours of accounting courses from an accredited institution
of higher education or has at least eight years of experience
performing progressively difficult accounting tasks.
Responsibilities of this class title may include supervision of
other personnel;

(8) "Aide I" means a person selected and trained for a
teacher-aide classification such as monitor aide, clerical aide,
classroom aide or general aide;

(9) "Aide II" means a service person referred to in the "Aide
I" classification who has completed a training program approved by
the state board, or who holds a high school diploma or has received
a general educational development certificate. Only a person
classified in an Aide II class title may be employed as an aide in
any special education program

(10) "Aide III" means a service person referred to in the
"Aide I" classification who holds a high school diploma or a
general educational development certificate; and

(A) Has completed six semester hours of college credit at an
institution of higher education; or

(B) Is employed as an aide in a special education program and
has one year's experience as an aide in special education;

(11) "Aide IV" means a service person referred to in the "Aide
I" classification who holds a high school diploma or a general
educational development certificate; and

(A) Has completed eighteen hours of State Board-approved
college credit at a regionally accredited institution of higher
education, or

(B) Has completed fifteen hours of State Board-approved
college credit at a regionally accredited institution of higher
education; and has successfully completed an in-service training
program determined by the State Board to be the equivalent of three
hours of college credit;

(12) "Audiovisual technician" means a person employed to
perform minor maintenance on audiovisual equipment, films, and
supplies and who fills requests for equipment;

(13) "Auditor" means a person employed to examine and verify
accounts of individual schools and to assist schools and school
personnel in maintaining complete and accurate records of their
accounts;

(14) "Autism mentor" means a person who works with autistic
students and who meets standards and experience to be determined by
the State Board. A person who has held or holds an aide title and becomes employed as an autism mentor shall hold a
multiclassification status that includes both aide and autism
mentor titles, in accordance with section eight-b of this article;

(15) "Braille specialist" means a person employed to provide
braille assistance to students. A service person who has held or
holds an aide title and becomes employed as a braille specialist
shall hold a multiclassification status that includes both aide and
braille specialist title, in accordance with section eight-b of
this article;

(16) "Bus operator" means a person employed to operate school
buses and other school transportation vehicles as provided by the
state board;

(17) "Buyer" means a person employed to review and write
specifications, negotiate purchase bids and recommend purchase
agreements for materials and services that meet predetermined
specifications at the lowest available costs;

(19) "Cafeteria manager" means a person employed to direct the
operation of a food services program in a school, including
assigning duties to employees, approving requisitions for supplies
and repairs, keeping inventories, inspecting areas to maintain high
standards of sanitation, preparing financial reports and keeping
records pertinent to food services of a school;

(22) "Chief mechanic" means a person employed to be
responsible for directing activities which ensure that student
transportation or other county board-owned vehicles are properly
and safely maintained;

(27) "Cook II" means a person employed to interpret menus and
to prepare and serve meals in a food service program of a school.
This definition includes a service person who has been employed as
a "Cook I" for a period of four years;

(28) "Cook III" means a person employed to prepare and serve
meals, make reports, prepare requisitions for supplies, order
equipment and repairs for a food service program of a school
system;

(29) "Crew leader" means a person employed to organize the
work for a crew of maintenance employees to carry out assigned projects;

(31) "Custodian II" means a person employed as a watchman or
groundsman;

(32) "Custodian III" means a person employed to keep buildings
clean and free of refuse, to operate the heating or cooling systems
and to make minor repairs;

(33) "Custodian IV" means a person employed as a head
custodian. In addition to providing services as defined in
"Custodian III" duties may include supervising other custodian
personnel;

(34) "Director or coordinator of services" means an employee
of a county board who is assigned to direct a department or
division.

(A) Nothing in this subdivision prohibits a professional
person or a professional educator from holding this class title;

(B) Professional personnel holding this class title may not be
defined or classified as service personnel unless the professional
person held a service personnel title under this section prior to
holding the class title of "director or coordinator of services;"

(C) The director or coordinator of services is classified
either as a professional person or a service person for state aid
formula funding purposes;

(D) Funding for the position of director or coordinator of services is based upon the employment status of the director or
coordinator either as a professional person or a service person;
and

(E) A person employed under the class title "director or
coordinator of services" may not be exclusively assigned to perform
the duties ascribed to any other class title as defined in this
subsection: Provided, That nothing in this paragraph prohibits a
person in this position from being multiclassified;

(36) "Early Childhood Classroom Assistant Teacher - Temporary
Authorization" means a person who does not possess minimum
requirements for the permanent authorization requirements, but is
enrolled in and pursuing requirements;

(37) "Early Childhood Classroom Assistant Teacher - Permanent
Authorization" means a person who has completed the minimum
requirements for a state-awarded certificate for early childhood
classroom assistant teachers that meet or exceed the requirements
for a child development associate. Equivalency for the West
Virginia Department of Education will be determined as the child
development associate or the West Virginia Apprenticeship for Child
Development Specialists;

(39) "Educational Sign Language Interpreter I" means a person
employed to provide communication access across all educational
environments to students who are deaf or hard of hearing, and who
holds the Initial Paraprofessional Certificate - Educational
Interpreter pursuant to state board policy;

(40) "Educational Sign Language Interpreter II" means a person
employed to provide communication access across all educational
environments to students who are deaf or hard of hearing, and who
holds the Permanent Paraprofessional Certificate - Educational
Interpreter pursuant to state board policy;

(41) "Electrician I" means a person employed as an apprentice
electrician helper or one who holds an electrician helper license
issued by the State Fire Marshal;

(42) "Electrician II" means a person employed as an
electrician journeyman or one who holds a journeyman electrician
license issued by the State Fire Marshal;

(45) "Executive secretary" means a person employed as
secretary to the county school superintendent or as a secretary who
is assigned to a position characterized by significant
administrative duties;

(46) "Food services supervisor" means a qualified person who
is not a professional person or professional educator as defined in
section one, article one of this chapter. The food services
supervisor is employed to manage and supervise a county school
system's food service program. The duties include preparing
in-service training programs for cooks and food service employees,
instructing personnel in the areas of quantity cooking with economy
and efficiency and keeping aggregate records and reports;

(47) "Foreman" means a skilled person employed to supervise
personnel who work in the areas of repair and maintenance of school
property and equipment;

(48) "General maintenance" means a person employed as a helper
to skilled maintenance employees, and to perform minor repairs to
equipment and buildings of a county school system;

(49) "Glazier" means a person employed to replace glass or
other materials in windows and doors and to do minor carpentry
tasks;

(51) "Groundsman" means a person employed to perform duties
that relate to the appearance, repair and general care of school
grounds in a county school system. Additional assignments may
include the operation of a small heating plant and routine cleaning
duties in buildings;

(52) "Handyman" means a person employed to perform routine manual tasks in any operation of the county school system;

(53) "Heating and air conditioning mechanic I" means a person
employed at the apprentice level to install, repair and maintain
heating and air conditioning plants and related electrical
equipment;

(54) "Heating and air conditioning mechanic II" means a
person employed at the journeyman level to install, repair and
maintain heating and air conditioning plants and related
electrical equipment;

(58) "Licensed practical nurse" means a nurse, licensed by
the West Virginia Board of Examiners for Licensed Practical
Nurses, employed to work in a public school under the supervision
of a school nurse;

(59) "Locksmith" means a person employed to repair and
maintain locks and safes;

(60) "Lubrication man" means a person employed to lubricate
and service gasoline or diesel-powered equipment of a county
school system;

(61) "Machinist" means a person employed to perform machinist
tasks which include the ability to operate a lathe, planer,
shader, threading machine and wheel press. A person holding this
class title also should have the ability to work from blueprints
and drawings;

(63) "Maintenance clerk" means a person employed to maintain
and control a stocking facility to keep adequate tools and
supplies on hand for daily withdrawal for all school maintenance
crafts;

(64) "Mason" means a person employed to perform tasks
connected with brick and block laying and carpentry tasks related
to these activities;

(65) "Mechanic" means a person employed to perform skilled
duties independently in the maintenance and repair of automobiles,
school buses and other mechanical and mobile equipment to use in
a county school system;

(66) "Mechanic assistant" means a person employed as a
mechanic apprentice and helper;

(67) "Multiclassification" means a person employed to perform
tasks that involve the combination of two or more class titles in
this section. In these instances the minimum salary scale is the
higher pay grade of the class titles involved;

(69) "Office equipment repairman II" means a person
responsible for servicing and repairing all office machines and
equipment. A person holding this class title is responsible for
the purchase of parts necessary for the proper operation of a
program of continuous maintenance and repair;

(70) "Painter" means a person employed to perform duties
painting, finishing and decorating wood, metal and concrete
surfaces of buildings, other structures, equipment, machinery and
furnishings of a county school system;

(71) "Paraprofessional" means a person certified pursuant to
section two-a, article three of this chapter to perform duties in
a support capacity including, but not limited to, facilitating in
the instruction and direct or indirect supervision of students
under the direction of a principal, a teacher or another
designated professional educator.

(A) A person employed on the effective date of this section
in the position of an aide may not be subject to a reduction in
force or transferred to create a vacancy for the employment of a
paraprofessional;

(B) A person who has held or holds an aide title and becomes
employed as a paraprofessional shall hold a multiclassification
status that includes both aide and paraprofessional titles in
accordance with section eight-b of this article; and

(C) When a service person who holds an aide title becomes
certified as a paraprofessional and is required to perform duties
that may not be performed by an aide without paraprofessional
certification, he or she shall receive the paraprofessional title
pay grade;

(72) "Payroll supervisor" means a person employed in the
county board office who has primary responsibility for the payroll
function and who either has completed twelve college hours of
accounting from an accredited institution of higher education or
has at least eight years of experience performing progressively
difficult accounting tasks. Responsibilities of this class title
may include supervision of other personnel;

(73) "Plumber I" means a person employed as an apprentice
plumber and helper;

(79) "Sanitation plant operator" means a person employed to
operate and maintain a water or sewage treatment plant to ensure
the safety of the plant's effluent for human consumption or
environmental protection;

(80) "School bus supervisor" means a qualified person:

(A) Employed to assist in selecting school bus operators and
routing and scheduling school buses, operate a bus when needed,
relay instructions to bus operators, plan emergency routing of
buses and promote good relationships with parents, students, bus
operators and other employees; and

(B) Certified to operate a bus or previously certified to
operate a bus;

(82) "Secretary II" means a person employed in any
elementary, secondary, kindergarten, nursery, special education,
vocational, or any other school as a secretary. The duties may
include performing general clerical tasks; transcribing from
notes; stenotype, mechanical equipment or a sound-producing
machine; preparing reports; receiving callers and referring them
to proper persons; operating office machines; keeping records and
handling routine correspondence. Nothing in this subdivision
prevents a service person from holding or being elevated to a higher classification;

(83) "Secretary III" means a person assigned to the county
board office administrators in charge of various instructional,
maintenance, transportation, food services, operations and health
departments, federal programs or departments with particular
responsibilities in purchasing and financial control or any person
who has served for eight years in a position which meets the
definition of "secretary II" or "secretary III";

(84) "Sign Support Specialist" means a person employed to
provide sign supported speech assistance to students who are able
to access environments through audition. A person who has held or
holds an aide title and becomes employed as a sign support
specialist shall hold a multi-classification status that includes
both aide and sign support specialist titles, in accordance with
section eight-b of this article.

(85) "Supervisor of maintenance" means a skilled person who
is not a professional person or professional educator as defined
in section one, article one of this chapter. The responsibilities
include directing the upkeep of buildings and shops, and issuing
instructions to subordinates relating to cleaning, repairs and
maintenance of all structures and mechanical and electrical
equipment of a county board;

(86) "Supervisor of transportation" means a qualified person
employed to direct school transportation activities properly and
safely, and to supervise the maintenance and repair of vehicles, buses and other mechanical and mobile equipment used by the county
school system. After July 1, 2010, all persons employed for the
first time in a position with this classification title or in a
multi-classification position that includes this title shall have
five years of experience working in the transportation department
of a county board. Experience working in the transportation
department consists of serving as a bus operator, bus aide,
assistant mechanic, mechanic, chief mechanic or in a clerical
position within the transportation department;

(87) "Switchboard operator-receptionist" means a person
employed to refer incoming calls, to assume contact with the
public, to direct and to give instructions as necessary, to
operate switchboard equipment and to provide clerical assistance;

(90) "Watchman" means a person employed to protect school
property against damage or theft. Additional assignments may
include operation of a small heating plant and routine cleaning
duties;

(91) "Welder" means a person employed to provide acetylene or
electric welding services for a school system; and

(92) "WVEIS data entry and administrative clerk" means a
person employed to work under the direction of a school principal to assist the school counselor or counselors in the performance of
administrative duties, to perform data entry tasks on the West
Virginia Education Information System, and to perform other
administrative duties assigned by the principal.

(j) Notwithstanding any provision in this code to the
contrary, and in addition to the compensation provided for service
personnel in section eight-a of this article, each service person
is entitled to all service personnel employee rights, privileges
and benefits provided under this or any other chapter of this code
without regard to the employee's hours of employment or the
methods or sources of compensation.

(k) A service person whose years of employment exceeds the
number of years shown and provided for under the state minimum pay
scale set forth in section eight-a of this article may not be paid
less than the amount shown for the maximum years of employment
shown and provided for in the classification in which he or she is
employed.

(l) Each county board shall review each service person's job
classification annually and shall reclassify all service persons
as required by the job classifications. The state superintendent
may withhold state funds appropriated pursuant to this article for
salaries for service personnel who are improperly classified by
the county boards. Further, the state superintendent shall order
a county board to correct immediately any improper classification matter and, with the assistance of the Attorney General, shall
take any legal action necessary against any county board to
enforce the order.

(m) Without his or her written consent, a service person may
not be:

(1) Reclassified by class title; or

(2) Relegated to any condition of employment which would
result in a reduction of his or her salary, rate of pay,
compensation or benefits earned during the current fiscal year; or
for which he or she would qualify by continuing in the same job
position and classification held during that fiscal year and
subsequent years.

(n) Any county board failing to comply with the provisions of
this article may be compelled to do so by mandamus and is liable
to any party prevailing against the board for court costs and the
prevailing party's reasonable attorney fee, as determined and
established by the court.

(o) Notwithstanding any provision of this code to the
contrary, a service person who holds a continuing contract in a
specific job classification and who is physically unable to
perform the job's duties as confirmed by a physician chosen by the
employee, shall be given priority status over any employee not
holding a continuing contract in filling other service personnel
job vacancies if the service person is qualified as provided in
section eight-e of this article.

(p) Any person employed in an aide position on the effective
date of this section may not be transferred or subject to a
reduction in force for the purpose of creating a vacancy for the
employment of a licensed practical nurse.

(q) Without the written consent of the service person, a
county board may not establish the beginning work station for a
bus operator or transportation aide at any site other than a
county board-owned facility with available parking. The workday
of the bus operator or transportation aide commences at the bus at
the designated beginning work station and ends when the employee
is able to leave the bus at the designated beginning work station,
unless he or she agrees otherwise in writing. The application or
acceptance of a posted position may not be construed as the
written consent referred to in this subsection.

(r) Itinerant status means a service person who does not have
a fixed work site and may be involuntarily reassigned to another
work site. A service person is considered to hold itinerant
status if he or she has bid upon a position posted as itinerant or
has agreed to accept this status. A county board may establish
positions with itinerant status only within the aide and autism
mentor classification categories and only when the job duties
involve exceptional students. A service person with itinerant
status may be assigned to a different work site upon written
notice ten days prior to the reassignment without the consent of
the employee and without posting the vacancy. A service person with itinerant status may be involuntarily reassigned no more than
twice during the school year. At the conclusion of each school
year, the county board shall post and fill, pursuant to section
eight-b of this article, all positions that have been filled
without posting by a service person with itinerant status. A
service person who is assigned to a beginning and ending work site
and travels at the expense of the county board to other work sites
during the daily schedule, is not considered to hold itinerant
status.

(s) Any service person holding a classification title on June
30, 2013, that is removed from the classification schedule
pursuant to amendment and reenactment of this section in the year
2013, has his or her employment contract revised as follows:

(1) Any service person holding the Braille or Sign Language
Specialist classification title has that classification title
renamed on his or her employment contract as either Braille
Specialist or Sign Support Specialist. This action does not
result in a loss or reduction of salary or supplement by any
employee. Any seniority earned in the Braille or Sign Language
Specialist classification prior to July 1, 2013, continues to be
credited as seniority earned in the Braille Specialist or Sign
Support Specialist classification;

(2) Any service person holding the Paraprofessional
classification title and holding the Initial Paraprofessional
Certificate - Educational Interpreter has the title Educational Sign Language Interpreter I added to his or her employment
contract. This action does not result in a loss or reduction of
salary or supplement by any employee. Any seniority earned in the
Paraprofessional classification prior to July 1, 2013, continues
to be credited as seniority earned in the Educational Sign
Language Interpreter I classification; and

(3) Any service person holding the Paraprofessional
classification title and holding the Permanent Paraprofessional
Certificate - Educational Interpreter has the title Educational
Sign Language Interpreter II added to his or her employment
contract. This action does not result in a loss or reduction of
salary or supplement by any employee. Any seniority earned in the
Paraprofessional classification prior to July 1, 2013, continues
to be credited as seniority earned in the Educational Sign
Language Interpreter II classification;
Note: WV Code updated with legislation passed through the 2015 Regular Session
The WV Code Online is an unofficial copy of the annotated WV Code, provided as a convenience. It has NOT been edited for publication, and is not in any way official or authoritative.